Guest Post by Julia Aziz: Releasing Negative Emotions

 

Whew, it is HEAVY out there! It feels like a hot, thick, dense fog of negative emotions in the collective right now, at least locally where I live in Texas. If you're going with the societal flow, you're probably being fired up and/or pulled down again and again. It takes a warrior's intent to stay centered in this dark time of human history. Even the phrase "stay" centered doesn't make much sense. "Return to center as often as you need to," is my more favored refrain.

To be honest with you, I'm personally feeling strong in spirit lately, as I've recommitted to self-discipline around what nourishes me, like taking a sleep retreat last weekend and setting aside consistent solo time to deeply feel and express my own feelings. Being a person in the world and experiencing my own rough times, as well as listening to so many different experiences other people are having, keeps reminding me of that old Indigo Girls song line, "Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable, and lightness has a call that's hard to hear." In my experience, we can't hear that faint call of the light until we're actually quiet inside. And to get quiet inside, it helps to liberate those insatiable loud and dark feelings that have been waiting to be heard.

I want to share with you a podcast interview I did last fall with Dr. Wendy Bruton. It's about releasing negative emotions in ways that are accessible to most everyone. I'd like to think if we each make space to care for our own vulnerable selves and find the vital strength to re-center, we can help lighten the collective load too. Give it a listen! It's in all the usual podcast places.

[Julia is author of Lessons from Labor.]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Memoriam: Carl Don Leaver

Image
  1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love.  Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over the years,
Read more

A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Book Marketing vs Book Promotion

Image
It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post looks at the difference between book marketing and book promotion, two terms that are frequently confused. Leading to the confusion is that some of the same activities are needed for both. In fact, good marketing is dependent upon good promotion. Perhaps the essential difference is that marketing focuses on sales, and promotion focuses on awareness --  noting that without awareness, sales generally do not happen. Book Marketing Book marketing includes promotion, sales, and increasing awareness of the availability of the book. It generally starts with a marketing plan that identifies the target audiences and selects marketing t
Read more

Author in the news: Gregg Bagdade participates in podcast, "Chicago FireWives: Married to the Job

Image
  Gregg Bagdade, author of Mental Health Mayday , recently participated in a podcast called "Chicago FireWives: Married to the Job." Listen to it HERE . For more posts about Gregg and his book, click HERE . Award Literary Titan Gold Award Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 
Read more